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Orthodox Calendar 2027: Pascha, Feasts, and Fasts

Orthodox Pascha 2027 falls on Sunday, May 2. Great Lent begins on Monday, March 15. This page gives the whole Church year 2027 as our parish keeps it: every great feast, every fasting season, with the day of the week for each, so you can plan without doing the arithmetic yourself.

St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church follows the New Calendar (Revised Julian) for fixed feasts, in common with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. Pascha and everything that moves with it follow the traditional Orthodox paschalion that every canonical Orthodox jurisdiction shares.

Why Orthodox Pascha is five weeks later in 2027

Western Easter 2027 is Sunday, March 28. Orthodox Pascha is Sunday, May 2. That is a gap of thirty-five days, and it is the widest separation the two systems can ever produce.

The reason is not stubbornness. Both traditions keep the same rule from the First Ecumenical Council: Pascha is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. The West calculates that on the Gregorian calendar; the Orthodox world calculates it on the older Julian reckoning. Most years the two land within a week or two of each other. In 2027 the paschal full moons fall on opposite sides of a lunar month, and the answers separate by the maximum five weeks.

For families in Pinellas County this is worth knowing early. When the shops and the school calendar treat late March as Easter, our parish will be only in the second week of Great Lent, with six weeks still to go. Plan time off accordingly.

Pascha and Holy Week 2027

  • Sunday, March 7: Meatfare Sunday, the Sunday of the Last Judgment
  • Sunday, March 14: Cheesefare, Forgiveness Sunday
  • Monday, March 15: Clean Monday, Great Lent begins
  • Sunday, March 21: Sunday of Orthodoxy
  • Saturday, April 24: Lazarus Saturday
  • Sunday, April 25: Palm Sunday, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
  • Friday, April 30: Great and Holy Friday
  • Saturday, May 1: Great and Holy Saturday
  • Sunday, May 2: PASCHA, the Resurrection of Christ (Великдень)
  • Sunday, May 9: Thomas Sunday (Providna Nedilia)
  • Tuesday, May 11: Radonitsa, the Paschal commemoration of the departed
  • Thursday, June 10: Ascension of the Lord
  • Sunday, June 20: Pentecost, Holy Trinity
  • Sunday, June 27: All Saints

Bright Week, the week following Pascha, runs Monday May 3 through Saturday May 8 and is entirely fast free.

Great Lent 2027

Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, March 15 and the Lenten spring runs forty days to Friday, April 23. Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday follow, and then Holy Week, which is properly its own fast. Counting from Clean Monday through Great and Holy Saturday, the whole season is forty-eight days.

One date to mark: the Annunciation falls on Thursday, March 25, inside the second week of Great Lent. It is a Great Feast in the middle of the fast, and fish is permitted that day.

The Twelve Great Feasts in 2027

Fixed feasts

  • Wednesday, January 6: Theophany of Our Lord (Богоявлення / Водохреще), the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
  • Tuesday, February 2: Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple (Стрітення Господнє)
  • Thursday, March 25: Annunciation to the Theotokos (Благовіщення Пресвятої Богородиці)
  • Friday, August 6: Transfiguration of Our Lord (Преображення Господнє)
  • Sunday, August 15: Dormition of the Theotokos (Успіння Пресвятої Богородиці)
  • Wednesday, September 8: Nativity of the Theotokos (Різдво Пресвятої Богородиці)
  • Tuesday, September 14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Воздвиження Чесного Хреста), a strict fast day
  • Sunday, November 21: Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple (Введення в храм Пресвятої Богородиці)
  • Saturday, December 25: Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Різдво Христове)

Moveable feasts

  • Sunday, April 25: Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday (Вербна неділя)
  • Thursday, June 10: Ascension of Our Lord (Вознесіння Господнє), forty days after Pascha
  • Sunday, June 20: Holy Pentecost (П’ятидесятниця), the Descent of the Holy Spirit

To these we add Pascha itself, the Feast above all feasts, from which the others draw their light.

Two of the Great Feasts fall on Sundays in 2027, the Dormition on August 15 and the Entrance of the Theotokos on November 21. Both land on our regular Liturgy day, so both can be kept in their fullness without a weekday service.

The four fasting seasons of 2027

Great Lent and Holy Week: Monday, March 15 through Saturday, May 1. Forty-eight days in all. We set aside meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine, and oil to varying strictness as the weeks unfold, with fish permitted on the Annunciation and on Palm Sunday. Holy Week is the most intense of the year.

Apostles’ Fast: Monday, June 28 only. This is the shortest Apostles’ Fast most of us will ever keep. Its length depends on the date of Pascha, since it begins the Monday after All Saints and ends at the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. With Pascha as late as May 2, All Saints falls on June 27, and only a single day remains. The nearest year like it was 2021; the next is 2032. In some years the fast disappears entirely.

Dormition Fast: Sunday, August 1 through Saturday, August 14, two weeks of preparation for the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15. In 2027 the fast opens on a Sunday, so it begins on the very morning we are together for the Divine Liturgy.

Nativity Fast (Pylypivka, Пилипівка): Monday, November 15 through Friday, December 24, forty days of preparation for the Nativity of Christ. See our full guide to the Nativity Fast for the week by week rules and the Holy Supper; the practice is the same each year, only the weekdays shift.

Single fast days through the year include the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Sunday, August 29) and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Tuesday, September 14). Wednesdays and Fridays through most of the year are fast days as well.

For a closer look, see our Orthodox Fasting page. If you are new to the Church, please do not feel you must master the whole rule at once. Speak with Fr. Stephen; he will help you begin where you are.

What makes 2027 unusual

Three things, and each one matters practically.

The widest possible split with the West. Thirty-five days between March 28 and May 2. Worth telling family and employers early.

A one-day Apostles’ Fast. June 28 and nothing more. Announce it on All Saints Sunday, June 27, or it will pass unnoticed.

Nativity falls on a Saturday. December 25, 2027 is a Saturday, and the Synaxis of the Theotokos falls on Sunday, December 26. Watch the bulletin for how the parish keeps that weekend.

How our parish keeps the feasts

St. Michael serves the Divine Liturgy on Sundays at 10:00 AM, with Hours and Confession at 9:30 AM. When a great feast falls on a Sunday we serve the festal Liturgy in its full beauty, with festal hymns in Ukrainian and English. When a feast falls on a weekday we keep the festal hymns on the Sunday nearest.

Our parish also keeps the monthly Akathist to the Mother of God “Pantanassa” (“She Who Is Queen of All”) on the last Sunday of each month, served briefly after the Divine Liturgy. The icon was gifted to our parish by His Eminence Archbishop Daniel in May 2026.

Each November we keep our храмовий празник, our parish feast of the Holy Archangel Michael, with the festal Liturgy and a meal together afterward. See our page on the Holy Archangel Michael for the Scripture, the Miracle at Chonae, and the hymns of our patron, and watch the monthly bulletin for the date and details.

The monthly bulletin lists exact feast day service times. It is your best week to week guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Orthodox Easter 2027? Sunday, May 2, 2027. Orthodox Christians call it Pascha.

Why is Orthodox Pascha 2027 so much later than Western Easter? Western Easter is March 28, 2027. Both traditions follow the same rule from the First Ecumenical Council, but calculate it on different calendars. In 2027 the two answers fall thirty-five days apart, the maximum possible.

When does Great Lent 2027 begin? Clean Monday, March 15, 2027. It runs forty days to Friday, April 23, followed by Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week.

When is Palm Sunday 2027? Sunday, April 25, 2027.

When does the Nativity Fast begin in 2027? Monday, November 15, 2027, and it ends on the evening of Friday, December 24.

When is the Dormition Fast in 2027? August 1 through August 14, with the feast of the Dormition on Sunday, August 15.

How long is the Apostles’ Fast in 2027? One day, Monday, June 28. Its length changes every year with the date of Pascha, and 2027 gives it the shortest run in a decade.

Does your parish follow the Old Calendar or the New Calendar? The New Calendar (Revised Julian) for fixed feasts, so we keep the Nativity on December 25 and Theophany on January 6. Pascha follows the shared Orthodox paschalion.

Learn More

Plan your visit

If you are anywhere in Tampa Bay and would like to come to a feast day Liturgy, you are welcome. Our address is 9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782, with free parking on site. Sunday Divine Liturgy is at 10:00 AM, Hours and Confession at 9:30 AM. Coffee and fellowship follow in the parish hall. There is no dress code; modest, comfortable clothing is fine.

Call Fr. Stephen Siniari at 727-777-4450 to confirm feast day service times or to ask about preparing for Holy Communion, Confession, or Baptism.

St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church 9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782 Phone: 727-777-4450